Is Blogging About Blogging Being Dead The New Blogging?

“IS BLOGGING DEAD?” is the exact headline I was mocking on Twitter the other day. If you Google it, loads of clickbait comes up, obvs. My other pet peeve is when people say “sorry I haven’t blogged for ages!!!!!!” because no one really cares that much.

But in all seriousness, I had seen a bit of chat about it online from actual legit humans questioning if the blogging world was going downhill, so I thought I’d stick my oar in. Why not. Were people quitting their blogs? Had people gone off the idea of trying to monetise a blog? Were people not reading blogs anymore? I love the blogging world, the community and all the positivity it brings me, so I wondered, like the 4 Non Blondes, WHAT’S GOING ON?

I asked a question to the people of Twitter: “when you see the headline “Blogging is Dead”, what do you think?” Most of the responses I got were along the same lines of “eye roll”, “vom”, “whatever”, “nah”, “lies!” but there were a few were like “hmmm, kinda”. A handful of people questioned the integrity, creativity and quality of blogs these days. I get it.

I also typed in “blogging” and “dead” into Twitter search and there seemed to be so many people writing about it at the moment. On their blogs. Then this tweet surfaced, and I loll’ed out loud.

I’m also really enjoying reading all these pieces about how blogging is dead. On blogs. By bloggers. — The Guyliner (@theguyliner)

Sums it up really. Blogging isn’t dead.

(And for me personally, this blog will never be dead, because I will never give up writing for fun.)

I adore having my own personal space online.

The Internet loves churning out a clickbait headline (like the headline of this post, I hope the irony is visible!) and that’s what I’ve personally got a problem with. It’s not just bloggers either, it’s YouTubers too. I don’t like being fed clickbait by real people – I don’t like it from dying magazines either, but I sort of let them off the hook more than if it’s a person’s personal Twitter account, who knows exactly what they’re doing. The only blogs that seem to be dead or dying are the ones who just try and con their readers. The ones who don’t disclose their “collaborations” properly. I think blogging is still a booming industry, but I think “crap content” is dead. I think we want more quality and variety on blogs.

The reason I was interested in wading in on the chat was because I’d noticed a few of my blogging friends saying things like “I’ve really gone off blogging” or “I’ve really neglected my blog” and it was simply because other platforms had taken the lead, be it a podcast, YouTube channel or writing long captions on Instagram (Insta-blogging). It was just simply that other things were being added to the mix, alongside the blog. There’s no need to be dramatic and conclude that blogs are therefore being wiped out.

We definitely have more things to look at now. More blogs exist. More people are creating content. I saw a friend’s mum (sans blog) use the #bblogger hashtag the other day. Everyone’s involved and it’s a good thing – it means we have more choice. But it also means we have to streamline who we want to follow otherwise it’s too overwhelming. I only read my favourite blogs. I’m more picky with where I spend my time online. But that doesn’t mean the industry is changing that much. I still believe blogs are as relevant as ever, and of course I don’t believe blogging is dying even for one minute.

The only thing I can think of that might have been contributing to me putting a few blogs on the back-burner was because a lot of blogs were starting to look and sound the same. The same fonts, the same Rimmel lipstick, the same pose. That’s always been a problem, but it has seemed to have got worse. I like looking at different things on different people. I’d also realised a lot of bloggers weren’t really labelling themselves “bloggers” anymore, they were all-round online content makers. Maybe that’s what people mean, that the term “blogger” feels retro, not the blogs themselves. Blogs are always evolving. The ones that don’t….well maybe they do die.

I’ve noticed being “a blogger” seems to be butt of some people’s jokes. I’ve heard it: in meetings, in pub chatter, on Twitter – people thinking you can’t trust bloggers who #hashtag #every #last #thing. I’ve overheard the term “Fashion Blogger” being used in a condescending way in quite a few conversations recently which isn’t nice or necessary. But that’s only because the blogging industry is more mainstream now. It’s not that niche. And we know that when things go mainstream, they attract more haters. That’s just how it goes. I hope people don’t label “blogger” with someone who just demands freebies and poses in free clothes. That’s not what blogging means to me.

A blogger is someone who regularly adds content to a web page or a website. So as long as you put your thoughts out there in the ether that is the world wide web, you are a blogger…whether you have a following or not. I am frequently guilty of apologising for not writing. But I have learned not to. I blog when the muses visit, when I feel I have something to say. I am so in awe at everyone who regularly produces amazing contents for their little corners of the web…even more amazed at the insights of amazing people like you!

Nope. I don’t think blogging is dead. As long as someone puts their thoughts out their, blogging is alive, thriving and well!

I bloody love this post. Even from my most loved blogs, I constantly see them write things like, “Sorry I haven’t been on here lately…” and I understand that people fall out of the love of writing every now and then. And that’s okay. Even as blogging, youtube, and other social media platforms take off and grow mainstream, that MEANS more people will attempt to make themselves the next “big thing”. Flattery is the sincerest form of complement. But it does get quite boring seeing the same posts pop up all the time. And I think that if we do get stuck in a rut of what other people are posting, and how it’s all the same, blogging will die out for you. It’s comparison that kills, really. On my blog, I want to feel like I have something to say, and that I want to be unique and reach out… But not a lot of people take notice because it’s not what’s trending (makeup, etc), and that they are stuck in only liking THAT. I hope people’s minds open up a bit in the next few years about blogging and social media, and that we are here to be different. Not the same 🙂

Completely agree! Blogging is not dead by any means. Agree with your point on the term Blogger – maybe it’s evolving into something new with all the ways you can “blog” these days. God I have definitely done that a lot in the past on my previous blog, apologising. This time round I’m really trying not to, I’m also trying not to freak out when I know I haven’t posted for a few days, trying to remember who am I doing this for? Me right? My own space to say what I want to say and if people happen to pop on and have a read that’s brilliant isn’t it. #bloggersunite ?

Fantastic thoughts!
I despise clickbait titles (or even all these 10 reasons/things/places/hacks titles) but I can see how some might find them nessecary to stand out in the blogging crowd. I’m much more drawn to a poetic or funny title, like the one in this post.

It’s also true that so many blogs are similar now content and style-wise. It feels like everybody wants to be a part of that world but don’t know how and so they’re all looking at each other’s content.

All that being said, I still discover amazing and creative blogs everyday!

Great post. I think blogs will always be around. And those who stay for the long haul will be those who found their voice, like their voice and have fun expressing their voice regardless of how many hits they get at the end of the day. And I will always love to read blog-post like those. I don’t even have to bookmark them, they just stay in the forefront of my mind.

Blogging will always be around. Depending on if it’s personal or not it’s only an online form of keeping a diary or writing for a magazine and both of those have continued over the years! What is dead (or dying hopefully at least) is the mass craze of “omg look how much money bloggers make, I must start my own!” and then people get bored after a month because actually it isn’t just a case of sitting down, spilling out a few posts and raking in the millions.

It’s easy to get into blogging so people will continue to. What is hard is being successful, however you categorise that, be it getting paid to blog, having lots of readers or any other goal you set. And I agree with one of the other comments above; readers are simply more discerning. When Facebook first launched everyone wanted to friend everyone because it was new and interesting and had statuses. Now not so much, it’s old and you know what to expect so you just friend those you’re actually interested in.

I totally get you with the “sorry I haven’t blogged for ages” pet peeve. I’ve started a few posts like that myself and then instantly deleted the line, because I do only have myself to blame an if I don’t feel like writing, then I won’t.
I also get the worry about blogging being dead. Quite a few genuine bloggers whom I looked up to, seem to have outsold themselves to #ad and really I don’t feel like scrolling through the picture perfect life anymore. Actual solid content however is far from being dead.

Ha! I am one of those people blogging about blogging being dead – or at least less popular because of the growth of other social networks and platforms. But then I realised: blogging is not dead at all, but it was me who let it slip in the past 2 years or so. Yes, many of those who I followed before might have stopped blogging, but there is a whole new world of interesting bloggers out there for me to discover – sometimes the real gems are just hard to find in between all this click-baiting. But, it’s exciting. And now that I am back on track, I guess I still have to find a direction for my own blog … let’s see where it goes.